Trial of Baltimore police office Goodson delayed

The order from the Court of Special Appeals postpones the trial of Officer Caesar Goodson Jr. until an appeal by his colleague, Officer William Porter, is resolved.

William Porter, one of six Baltimore city police officers charged in connection to the death of Freddie Gray. The state should either scrap its plan to retry Porter, then grant him full immunity, or abandon its efforts to compel his testimony and hope other witnesses can persuade the jury of Goodson’s guilt.

The Maryland Court of Special Appeals issued a stay that halts the trial of Caesar Goodson Junior.

Porter’s trial is postponed indefinitely, pending further proceedings, including more written filings from both sides, followed by oral arguments, Maryland courts spokesman Terri Charles said. Following that, Dondi Johnson Sr. dies after his spine was fractured during a van ride. Goodson was with Freddie Gray for every second of his 45-minute trip from the site of his arrest to the Western District police station, where Gray arrived critically injured and unresponsive. Franklin has spoken to a slew of news organizations including, MSNBC commenting on Freddie’s death.

Goodson is also facing charges of involuntary manslaughter, second-degree negligent assault, manslaughter by vehicle (gross negligence), manslaughter by vehicle (criminal negligence), misconduct in office and reckless endangerment, CNN notes. Gray died a week later. A new date for Goodson’s trial now depends on when Porter’s appeal will be considered and resolved.

The move to compel a defendant to testify under immunity at a co-defendant’s trial is unprecedented in Maryland.

Porter’s attorneys have argued that compelling the officer to testify for the state as he awaits retrial in June would violate his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, despite promises that the state won’t use any compelled testimony against him. “Not Officer Porter”, they wrote.

“I think there is some chance that the state may have to choose between prosecuting Porter and prosecuting Goodson”, he said. A state appeals court has temporarily blocked that ruling while its judges consider whether to uphold that decision.

Baltimore, a majority black city of 620,000 people, exploded in protests and arson after Gray’s death. A family attorney says Gray’s spine was “80 percent severed at his neck” from fatal injuries in police custody in April.